Yogen-no-tori

Drypoint etching, 100×150, May 2020

Series: Japanese phantoms

Following Amabie and Jinja-hime, I made a Yogen-no-tori drypoint etching print. This bird was first noted in Kaga Province (now Ishikawa Prefecture) in 1858. It’s a black bird like a crow with two heads, one of which is white. The idea is almost the same as the Amabie and Jinja-hime: looking at the figure in the morning and evening was thought to be effective against plagues.